HOUSTON, March 18, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On February 27, 2014, Mr. Mark Fillman, Chief Operating Officer of the Coastal Flow Measurement family of companies, was presented with the prestigious Sierra Award by the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at their annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. The Sierra Award is presented each year to the person who has made significant contributions to the well-being and lives of children with cystic fibrosis (CF).
During the 1980s, sculptor and artist Jasper d'Ambrosi created a bronze statue of his young granddaughter, Sierra. The statue was in his studio when a visitor who happened to be familiar with CF noticed the characteristic distended belly and barrel chest which are common to those with the disease. The visitor inquired about the child and whether she was ill. D'Ambrosi relayed that the girl was his granddaughter and, in fact, had been quite ill but with no diagnosis. The visitor mentioned the possibility of CF and suggested that she be tested… and Sierra subsequently was positively diagnosed with CF. In appreciation, d'Ambrosi donated the bronze statue of Sierra to the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in 1985. For nearly 30 years, this award has been presented to an individual who has demonstrated a special love, understanding, and commitment to children with CF. The bronze statue of Sierra is retained by the award winner for one year and is now proudly displayed at the Coastal Flow Measurement corporate offices in Houston.
Ms. Sissy Boyd, Executive Director of the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, presented the Sierra Award to Mr. Fillman and said, "Our foundation and especially our Gulf Coast Chapter have been extremely fortunate to have had an exceptional number of unbelievably dedicated volunteers, and Mr. Fillman has been unmatched. Since becoming involved with our charity, he has labored tirelessly, and strongly encouraged others to do likewise, to improve the lives of the young victims of this disease and their families through his fundraising and support."
Mr. Fillman, since attending his first CF fund-raiser in 2010, has worked diligently with organizations and individuals to help raise not only awareness, but over $150,000 to date for CF research. He is actively involved in "Cast for the Cure," an annual charity fishing tournament held each year in Rockport, Texas, as well as conducting his own event through Coastal Flow Measurement called "Crawin' for the Cure." Now in its fourth year, Crawin' for the Cure is a combination crawfish boil and gumbo cook-off, with all you can eat crawfish, music, and a wide variety of family-oriented activities. This well attended event raised over $27,000 in 2013 and the goal is to raise $50,000 in 2014.
More information on the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) is available at www.cff.org. The Texas Gulf Coast Chapter of CFF's website is found at www.cff.org/chapters/txgulf. And the web link for the 2014 Crawin' for the Cure event is www.crawinforthecure.coastalflow.com.
About Coastal Flow
The Houston, Texas based Coastal Flow Measurement family of companies continues to grow dramatically and now ranks among the largest energy measurement services and software providers in the world. Its operating companies include: Coastal Flow Liquid Measurement, a rapidly expanding organization that provides a broad range of hydrocarbon liquid measurement products and services, including custody transfer measurement as well as meter proving and calibration; Flow-Cal®, the international leader in advanced software and services for electronic flow measurement; Coastal Flow Gas Measurement, including its Energy Labs, Field Services, and iMeasurement Services, the recognized experts in seamlessly providing value-added hydrocarbon measurement services from field operations to final accounting; and BirdDog™ Information Systems, offering advanced remote data collection, processing, and web-based delivery.